Salted Whiskey Caramels
makes 64 thin caramels in a 9-inch square pan
2 oz. (1/4 cup) whiskey (I used Jack Daniel's)
Directions:
2. In 1-quart saucepan, heat butter, heavy whipping cream, whiskey, vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to boiling, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; set aside.
3. In 3-quart saucepan, mix sugar, corn syrup, and water. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat. DO NOT STIR. Boil until sugar turns a warm golden brown.
4. When the sugar mixture is done, turn off the heat and slowly add the cream mixture to the sugar mixture. Be careful -- it will bubble up violently. Cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, until the mixture reaches 248 degrees F (firm ball) on a candy thermometer. Pour caramel into pan; cool 10 minutes. Sprinkle with up to 1 tablespoon salt; cool completely.
79 Responses to “Salted Whiskey Caramels”
I have never had/seen honey whiskey. But I really like the idea of adding either version to a caramel.
Silly question but the whiskey cooks out and makes these child friendly, right?
I’m not sure what the required time is for the alcohol to cook out, but these do cook for about 10 minutes after the whiskey is added. I’m not sure if kids will enjoy the taste. You may want to leave it out and try my Salted Caramels instead:
Hi Brad, the order of the ingredients go with the order of the directions. I’ve added clarification above in the directions. Thanks!
Did everything like it said and they wouldn’t harden up enough for me to cut them away from the wax paper. In a last ditch effort, I froze them, trying to see if they would set, but that didn’t even help. As a compliment to you, they tasted good, but I probably wouldn’t try to make these again.
Hmm, sounds like your mixture may have not reached the firm ball stage. Caramel is a tricky candy to make. On the bright side, you may have a great sauce to pour over ice cream or pound cake!
Jack Daniels def has a honey whiskey : )
I would looooove to make these for my husband, but I’d like for them to have a definite whiskey taste. (Since you said you probably wouldn’t notice unless told.) He’s deployed & misses his whiskey! Lol. I’d love to send him a candy that could bring back one of his favorite flavors into his life.
Could you add more whiskey for a stronger flavor? Or would that mess up the whole consistency of everything? I’ve never made carmels before, so I have no clue and don’t want to completely screw it all up!
Hmmm, I’m really not sure. It cooks for so long to get to the right caramel stage, that it might still cook out. Plus it’s such a science with the amount of liquid, so I don’t know if adding more would hinder it or not. You could always experiment and see! If it doesn’t get hard enough, you’ve got a great sauce and too hard then you’ve got hard candy (might be hard to cut though).
I made these using Maker’s Mark for a Kentucky themed wedding shower and they turned out great! I doubled the recipe and made them in an 8 x 13 pan. My future sister-in-law loved them (she lives in Louisville). Thank you for the fabulous recipe!
Yes, all that information is in the recipe directions.
If you want more whiskey taste, you can work a syringe of the type that is used to add marinate to a turkey into the center and slowly inject small amounts of whiskey. Then you have to close the hole off so it does not leak out. Not easy, and I am not sure how long the whiskey will stay inside as I only make them just before a party.
OMG! I’ve made caramels before but never thought to add whiskey to it. Can’t wait to give this recipe a try! Following you now on FB, so glad I found you. Pinned.
Just made these today. They were awesome. Family really liked them, but the only thing that I want to add is that IMHO the 1 TBSP of coarse Kosher salt was too much to sprinkle over the top. Also, it took me more like 15-20 min. at medium heat to get the mixture to the “firm ball” consistency. I followed your recipe exactly and the only thing that I wasn’t fond of was the wax paper sticking (even after spraying with non-stick vegetable spray) to the cooled caramel. Just my two cents. Thank you again for sharing your recipe. I would make it again, but with a few changes.
I might make these for Christmas gifts! I have mostly men in my family.
I’ve only made caramel’s a couple of times so it’s still a new thing with me. In the process of cooking the caramel (after the cream mixture goes in) the caramel started to burn (not all the way through thankfully) right when I hit the hardball stage. Would that be because I cooked it on too high of heat? I had my stove at medium low but it could have gone lower. So there’s little swirls of darker (almost burnt) caramel mixed with the good caramel.
Also, what about stirring during that stage? I refrained from stirring but then I had to stir a little to get the bubbles down.
Hi Carol! It does sound like you may have had the heat up too high. Every stove is different. Most recipes I’ve made for caramels instruct you not to stir, but I’ve got another recipe that tells you to stir constantly. I found the ones where you don’t stir to be better, but it really is a science. Trial & error!
I tried these this weekend. First batch was way too soft at 248*. So I put them back into the pan and heated them up again, this time to 300* – too hard, almost like toffee. I also had trouble with the wax paper sticking. However, the flavor was awesome! I will definately try these again, next time to 275*, maybe into some kind of candy mold.
I tried this recipe and mine didnt harden after pouring the two mixtures together. Can I reboil the mixture to re-try? or is it just too late???
I just made these and am in love. I used this salt. It’s a very nice compliment to the whiskey.
Next, I’m trying a vegan version, using coconut cream and coconut oil in place of cream and butter.
Really yummy caramels but I can’t taste the whiskey. I even doubled it, used it in place of the water. Tastes like normal caramels to me… although they are really good and I will not have any problem eating every last one of them… I’m still a little sad.
Buffalo Trace makes a Bourbon Creme (unfortunately only available in Kentucky right now) Just pondering the idea of using half of the bourbon creme and half the heavy creme and still using bourbon in as called for.
If you want more whiskey flavor youcan try exchanging the amount amount of whiskey with the amount of water since they are both liquid…this would be the best way with the least alteration to the original recipe, as far as ingrediant consistency. Truth be told: I cannot promise that this will work because with caramels I am not entirely sure that if the alcohol content will make any difference and I have not personally tried this in this recipe.
instead of whiskey, try triple sec(orange liquour). i make brownies with it and it really makes a difference!
I think I’m going to have to make these for my brother for Christmas. He loves Jack Daniels. Should I use just the regular Jack Daniels or would it work with the honey Jack? He really likes the honey JD.
They came out perfectly! I used Bushmill’s Irish whiskey.
What temp do you initially heat the sugar mixture to? I see the temp for the second step, but not the first. This would help to get more consistent results…trying the recipe right now!
Nothing about this recipe worked for me. The sugar and heavy cream mixture stayed seperated. Probably cooked it on medium low for twenty minutes before turning up the heat a little. It sort of mixed together then just became a lumpy brown crust on the bottom with a caramel colored liquid on top…I followed directions to a tee…
Im having a hard time getting the mixture to the firm ball temperature. any suggestions?
I found for a more whiskey taste and potency to add some right before hardball temp. You have to be careful cos the Carmel will boil up aggressively during this. Oh ya don’t smell it right after you do this…the whiskey is really strong as it mixes.
I made these tonight and they are fantastic! I used 100 proof Southern Comfort and you can definitely taste the SoCo but it blends amazingly with the caramel flavor!! I highly recommend using Southern Comfort with this recipe!
Going to make these right away. But these with all recipes must be adjusted for high altitude–I am little over 6000 ft. So must adjust 12 degrees higher for them to be right!!! It all has to do with the temperature and boiling point! Wish me luck.
Made these yesterday. You have to stir the boiled sugar and the cream mixture. I tried not to, but it never properly mixed together until I stirred it. Also: the TBSP of salt on top is WAY too much. The caramel is delicious, but is so salty. Other than that, great recipe!
This recipe did make a delicious caramel Sauce but I have tried twice and 248 just isn’t quite hard enough. After some research online I found many recipes recommending the 255-260 as the definition of hard ball stage. Maybe this will help some of the others in my situation!
On the upside now I have a whiskey caramel sauced cheesecake!
In step 4, I’m guessing it needs to be stirred? Your instructions don’t specify whether or not to stir though, so I didn’t, and they didn’t turn out AT ALL. Not until I got down to comment #52, after the fact, did I see they need to be stirred. The “sauce” that I have now does taste good, so perhaps I will try again, using the other commenter’s advice.
This recipe is from another blogger and I had no problems making it the way as directed, but some folks have felt the need to stir to get the proper finished product. Sorry yours didn’t turn out, but I’m glad you have a good sauce!
I am a food lover, living in Nashville, Tennessee. I enjoy cooking, baking, and definitely dining out. My passion for food and cooking started pretty late. I once had to beg my college roommate to make a grilled cheese for me because my cooking skills were that pitiful!
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